Election Commission of Telangana

The Telangana State Election Commission was constituted in September 2014 under the provisions of Article 243K read with Article 243ZA of the Constitution of India. Under Article 243K and 243ZA of the Constitution of India, superintendence, direction and control of preparation of electoral rolls for conduct of all elections to Panchayat Raj bodies and Municipal bodies in the State shall be vested in a State Election Commission consisting of a State Election Commissioner to be appointed by the Governor. The powers and functions of the State Election Commission under Article 243K and 243ZA of the Constitution of India are identical to those vested in the Election Commission of India constituted under Article 324 of the Constitution of India in their respective domains. The Election Commission of India is vested with the responsibility of conducting elections to House of People and State Legislative Assemblies whereas the State Election Commission with the conduct of elections to Rural and Urban Local Bodies in the State.

History and its formation

The Telangana State Election Commission is an autonomous, independent Constitutional and Statutory authority of Telangana. It was formed under the Constitution of India as per the provisions of the 73rd and 74th Amendments Acts of 1992.

Chief Electoral Commissioner of Telangana

The Chief Electoral Officer functions under the overall supervision and control of the Election Commission of India. It monitors the work relating to the conduct of General Elections and Bye-Elections to the House of People from Telangana, T.S. Legislative Assembly and T.S. Legislative Council. This includes preparation and updation of Electoral Rolls, Issue of Photo Identity Cards to Electors, rationalization/re-organization of Polling Stations, voters' education, implementation of Model Code of Conduct, the Election Laws and the instructions issued by the Election Commission of India from time to time.Currently, Dr. Rajat Kumar isthe Chief Electoral Officer of the state.

Upcoming Elections

The next Telangana Legislative Assembly election is scheduled to be held on all the 119 assembly constituency seats of Telangana on 7 December 2018 to constitute the second Legislative Assembly. The incumbent Telangana Rashtra Samithi, the Indian National Congress, Telangana Jana Samithi, and Telugu DesamPartyare considered to be the main contestants in the election.